To the Happy Couple…Taylor and Travis Get Engaged

Audio By Carbonatix

Well, look at that. Taylor Swift is engaged.

Let me go ahead and say what I mean: congratulations, Taylor. Truly. And I don’t mean that with even a sprinkle of sarcasm. I mean it in the old-fashioned sense of the word—“I rejoice with you.”

Because while I don’t know Taylor Swift, and while I disagree with her on more issues than a single blog post could cover, I also know enough of her story to believe she has walked through some uniquely brutal things.

We’ve all seen glimpses in her documentaries, the candid snapshots that aren’t so candid…behind the curated concerts and costumes. She was shoved into the public eye as a teenager, asked to shoulder extraordinary pressure most adults would buckle under. Fame is cruel that way. It forces one to grow up while almost guaranteeing one does not mature. Every relationship is questioned for its genuineness, every friendship evaluated for loyalty, every decision replayed in the public square. Imagine trying to date when your heartbreak is immediately set to a beat and dissected on Twitter. Imagine how distorted that reality is. Imagine wondering if anyone is drawn to you for who you are, and not for what you bring.

Imagine building trust under that microscope.

That is no small weight. And for that reason alone, I sincerely hope marriage proves to be for her what God intended it to be: normalizing, safe, sacred. A sanctuary where she can thrive in the admiration, affection, and fidelity of one person, not millions of fans. Where she no longer feels the compulsive need to please the crowd or hold the stage, but can exhale and be loved without performance.

I hope she discovers what it feels like to be treasured by a faithful husband. I hope she knows the joy of being a mother—how it rearranges the furniture of your soul, how it softens edges you didn’t know you had.

And yes, I hope marriage and motherhood also soften her views on life and choice.

I’ve listened to her speak, and I’ve disagreed with her loudly. But I’ve also wondered, quietly, what her life might have looked like with a shred of normalcy or anonymity. Who would she have been without the spotlight? What lyrics might have poured out of her if she hadn’t had to weaponize her experiences and emotions to survive?

I’ve talked with my teenage daughter about her music a lot. We admire her gift for words—her sheer talent as a songwriter is undeniable. But I often wonder about the unwritten songs. What would the music of Taylor Swift sound like if the Lord captured her heart? If her pen turned from breakups and betrayals to the beauty of covenant, to the immeasurable joy of children? What would the album sound like if ever she was so thoroughly consumed in the grounded security of being known and loved? Having her identity fully rooted in Christ? My word, I know the scales shed from my own eyes, ears, and heart upon salvation and adoption. I know the sheer delight that covenant marriage and sacrificial parenting has been to me. Can you even imagine what TRUTH would do if ever unleashed in that young lady?!

I pray marriage will be a turning point.

Not because I believe in fairytales, but because I believe in a God who transforms hearts. My hope is not in Taylor or her fiancé, their friends, their families or their finance’s ability to create a “rich” and rewarding life. But in the Lord who longs to write a better story than even she could imagine.

Can you picture it? The cultural force of Taylor Swift leveraged not for liberal politics or fleeting feminist applause, but for building up the next generation of women to value marriage, motherhood, and the good design of God? That would be a revolution.

So yes—congratulations, Taylor. I’m not in your fan club, but I will be in your corner on this one.

May marriage be to you what it was meant to be: a gift.

May the God who created you for more than applause or fame, write a NEW SONG… thoughts and melodies you haven’t yet dared to sing.

And may we all be surprised by the joy of what happens when a heart turns fully to Him.